You may not know him but to many tech giants like Steve Jobs from Apple and Larry Page from Google, Bill Campbell was an admired Silicon Valley authority.
He was considered to be a coach and a mentor when it comes to leadership and management. According to Bloomberg, his advise on these topics have nurtured men that have laid the foundation of great tech companies like Apple and Google.
Sadly, Bill Campbell passed away at 75 years of age. After a long battle with cancer, he passed away.
His life has been celebrated by many. He used to work at Apple as its Marketing Executive in the 80's and eventually became a board member. He was also the CEO of Intuit in the 1990s. But above all, he was a celebrated leadership coach, a known figurehead and mentor for many individuals in the Silicon Valley.
He will always be remembered as "The Contentless Leader" by many executives who worked with him because he rarely dipped into the technicalities of the business.
Bill Gurley of Benchmark remembers Bill as having a "...bigger impact on Silicon Valley than any other single person simply because his reach was so amazingly wide." He recalls that Campbell has touched many individuals, not only Steve Jobs, but also the eighth graders from Sacred Heart. Not to mention also having advised to Steve Jobs' successor, Tim Cook. Aside from Google, Apple and Intuit, he also worked with and mentored many managers in various companies such as Amazon, and eBay. Intuit's Scott Cook also agreed that he made everyone a better person.
Managers, supervisors and executives can learn from Campbell on how to be a better mentor. Former eBay CEO Donahoe once remembered Campbell sayiing, "I love you to death, and I'm going to tell you the truth."
Has Bill Campbell influenced you in any way? Tell is in the comments section.
